''Acacia retinodes'' is an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

that is

native Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

to South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. Short

raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...

s of yellow flowers are produced periodically throughout the year. Internet Archive"> Internet Archive
''Select Extra-tropical Plants Readily Eligible for Industrial Culture Or Naturalization'' By Ferdinand von Mueller Some common names are retinodes water wattle, swamp wattle, wirilda, ever-blooming wattle and silver wattle.

Description

The tree typically grows to a height of and is able to form suckers. It has furrowed bark with a rough texture that is dark brown to black in colour. It has

glabrous Glabrousness () is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes, or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of a plant or animal, or be due to loss because of a physical condition, ...

branchlets that are sometimes pendulous or angular or flattened at extremities. Like most species of ''Acacia'' it has

phyllode Phyllodes are modified petiole (botany), petioles or leaf stems, which are leaf-like in appearance and function. In some plants, these become flattened and widened, while the leaf itself becomes reduced or vanishes altogether. Thus the phyllode co ...

s rather than true leaves. The green to grey-green, glabrous and variable phyllodes are quite crowded on stems and have a narrowly

oblanceolate The following terms are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade is divided into two or more leaflets) ...

to linear shape. The phyllodes are in length and wide with one main nerve per face. It mostly blooms in summer between December and February.

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by the botanist

Diederich Franz Leonhard von Schlechtendal Diederich Franz Leonhard von Schlechtendal (27 November 1794, Xanten – 12 October 1866, Halle an der Saale, Halle) was a German botanist. Life and work Von Schlechtendal was born in Xanten, Xanten am Rhein and when his father Diederich Fried ...

in 1847 as part of the work ''Sudaustralische Pflanzen. II. Bestimmung und Beschreibung der von Dr Behr in Sudaustralien gesammelten Pflanzen'' as published in the journal ''Linnaea: ein Journal für die Botanik in ihrem ganzen Umfange, oder Beiträge zur Pflanzenkunde''. It was reclassified as ''Racosperma retinodes'' by

Leslie Pedley Leslie Pedley (19 May 1930 – 27 November 2018)IPNILeslie Pedley/ref> was an Australian botanist who specialised in the genus ''Acacia''. He is notable for bringing into use the generic name ''Racosperma'', creating a split in the genus, which r ...

in 2003 then transferred back to genus ''Acacia'' in 2007.

Varieties

*''A. retinodes'' var. ''retinodes'' *''A. retinodes'' var. ''uncifolia''

Distribution

In South Australia it is native to the

Mount Lofty Ranges The Mount Lofty Ranges are a range of mountains in the Australian state of South Australia which for a small part of its length borders the east of Adelaide. The part of the range in the vicinity of Adelaide is called the Adelaide Hills and d ...

from around Mount Clare to Mount Bryan extending down the

Fleurieu Peninsula The Fleurieu Peninsula ( ; locally mainly ) is a peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia located south of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide. History Before British colonisation of South Australia, the western s ...

to around Delamere and Normanville in the south and is regarded as a weed further to the southeast. It is commonly situated on low ranges and hills as a part of ''

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...

'' woodland communities.

Uses

It is used for environmental management and for ornamental purposes. It produces good quantities of gum and its bark is good for tanning. It has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

. In temperate regions it requires a frost-free sheltered spot with full sun.

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

s ate the gum, after softening it in water, to relieve chest pains. The plant is grown as a house plant in temperate climates, where it is resistant to most diseases and pests. It can be grown in almost any well-drained potting soil, but requires ample light and water from spring to summer. Watering should be reduced in the fall and winter. Repotting is generally necessary at the start of each growth season. The plant is usually propagated from seed, but can be propagated from cuttings, though these may take several months to root.

Gallery

Acaciaretinodes1web.jpg, ''Acacia retinodes'' habit File:Acacia retinoides2LEST.jpg, Flowers and foliage File:Starr-090513-7751-Acacia retinodes-seedpods and leaves-Waipoli Rd-Maui (24955082495).jpg, Seedpods in

Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

References

External links

''Acacia retinodes'' Photos (Google Images)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2666767 retinodes Fabales of Australia Flora of Tasmania Flora of Victoria (state) Trees of Australia Flora of South Australia Plants described in 1847 Taxa named by Diederich Franz Leonhard von Schlechtendal